Sunday, February 28, 2010

Here is a list of the divine rumors I recall, spread by devotees, teachers, his holiness himself about the divine reincarnations of AoL devotees and Sri Sri, “the embodiment of God”, yours truly. Others may have more to add to the list. One can laugh at them, or believe in them. It is too much coincidence or too much narcissism that all great names, except those Sri Sri does not like (e.g. any Muslim related), reincarnate in the AoL community.

Nitin, now Rishiji, claims to have been Arjuna.Suki, now Swami Sukchaitanya, claims to have been Ravi’s brother in a past life.Most senior teachers claim to have been some emperor, queen, yogi some previous life time, as well as Jesus Christ’s apostles (btw, the 12 of them and Mary are there!)Wolgang Amadeus Mozart is apparently in the holy family too: Arvind, the holy nephew.Pitaji is the reincarnation of Rama, whereas Sita is a teacher now "on leave" - another scandalous secret the holy family managed to cleverly cover.Inevitably, about a thousand women claim to have been his gopis when he was Krishna, and Bhanu, of course, who knows what she claims!Mary and Joseph, parents of Jesus Christ, were also in the AoL(though no longer with the organization. Some problem with accounting, board, … no further comments).

When the Eternity Process was first introduced, some old timers came out saying they saw themselves being crucified in the times of Christ. SriSri’s response was, “Oh, it still bothers you?” Which immediately confirmed they were indeed the great apostles and he, the reincarnation of Christ.

I’ve heard him speak in first person when talking about Christ and Krishna. Exactly what people need to confirm the rumors. I’ve even heard him elaborate a great story about how before Christ was born, a congregation of rishis approached Vyasa asking him to “save” the West because there was too much ignorance (the Middle East). Vyasa told them he’d born there to “save it.” (note: India, according to him, is always sacred and more evolved, the West is dark, thus India saves the West, as it continues to do so, since, according to him, produces all enlightened spiritual masters). He gave instructions to 3 rishis – the 3 Wise Men, and he, Vyasa, was born in Bethlehem (while he remained Vyasa in India – Star Trek already already existed in the times of Ramayana!). The 3 Rishis traveled from India to Germany to reach Israel, and stopped where the AoL German ashram is today in their way in and out of the expedition! In fact, they meditated exactly where SSSRS sits in the Spring Hall to give satsangs! Very conveniently magical.

When he went to Israel for the first time, he claimed children ran to him yelling, “Messiah! Messiah!” But the elders, “stressed out, angry Jews”, would pull them away from him. His explanation: “Children always recognize me.” (though I also have seen many children freaking out in fear in his presence too! Of course, it’d be cleverly explained as some terrible past life impressions that were being lifted upon his presence!). I clearly heard him say he did not like Israel, a country of ignorant people who have no chances this life time, and would never want to go back. He claims the Middle East will never have peace. Yet, he went back after that because he needed brownie points for his Nobel Peace Prize campaign.

A swami said that once Ravi called while he was on tour in South America and said he was in hell. In case you need translation: he meant hell is where South America is (apparently, to be more precise, Brazil). I find it awful, but maybe his Latin devotees should know what he truly thinks of their homeland (maybe they’d consider moving out of “hell”), instead of that show he puts up for them in international events: “Ay, ay, ay, ay ….! Bonita ...” When he actually means, “Bonita my ass”. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!”

In one way or the other, all these rumors were used to further convince people of his proclaimed grandiosity and that he is not just a simple con-man of southern India, but God on Earth himself. If anyone attacks him, he and devotees will typically say, “Christ was also attacked but few were able to recognize him. Time will show.” As cleverly elaborated in the Ashtavakra tapes: one glorifies the prophets of the past or waits for a future one, but cannot recognize the one living in the present.

He once had an akash reader tell us, “Soon the world will know who he is.” Back then, I was excited the world would find out he was God on earth! It’s been over 10 years and most of the world still does not know who he is (though AoL claims the contrary, he is not that famous in the real scale). Looking back, I wonder if the “soon the world will know who he is” meant, “soon the world will find out he is a fraud, a con-man, a sociopath.”

There was a senior teacher who went to India to teach one of those advanced courses, which I will not name – a course that did not last long. It was held for top VIP/CEOs of India and it was a course that relied on verbal and psychological abuse. One most powerful CEOs got mad and sued the teacher and the organization. The teacher had to immediately flee the country, cannot go back to India and the whole story is a big guarded embarrassing secret. Instead of simply humbly recognizing the mistake of both the arrogance, ignorance and psychosis of the teacher and the irresponsibility of the organization, removing the teacher from her position, even not allowing her to teach anymore, Ravi and the teacher justified it with a past life story about her having been some queen and an unrequited love story the man not knowingly acted out on. Of course, the CEO was in fault, not able to transcend his impressions. The teacher was just a messenger, expressing his repressed feelings/memories.

I could go on and on - I know the stories of reincarnations of so many AoLers! I think I may have even met Napoleon! But there are only two points worth making,

1. If one is truly that great, does one really need magical thinking stories to prove it? Would a true enlightened spiritual master use these arguments to hold and acquire more followers? Would he/she really care to mention any of this? Is it not too cocky??? Too not humble? Too irrelevant in the spiritual path?

2. Many other well known gurus also claim to be the reincarnation of all the above listed characters, ie. Krishna, Jesus, Buddha … Can the so-called enlightened gurus please raise their hands and decide who is who for real?! Or has Ravishankar also monopolized all the claims, as he has in the NGO world: "the largest NGO of volunteers"?

I recall in one of the courses the teacher with so much of conviction and tears in his eyes narrated this story. Sri Sri visited a temple in south India where the priest recognised him as Krisha himself and instead of doing the aarathi for the deity in the sanctum did it for sri sri and told everyone there that the temple and he was so blessed to get the personal darshan of Krishna himself

It is very appealing to believe that you are hanging out with a real living God. Imagine how cool it is to hang out with with a modern living Jesus or Budha!

It is also a great filter for testing the belief systems of each new AOL recruit. Some will come on a basic course, do some knowledge, breathing and yoga and probably leave quietly. ( the AOL teacher is trained to say they were not ready to receive the knowledge in this lifetime )

Others will do more courses, stay with AOL, donate and recruit others because they are happy to believe that Guruji is God. And they reinforce each others beliefs, with stories and stuff.

I think that many people realise after a few months, years and do eventually leave, or just enjoy the knowledge, yoga, social stuff, and

Sri Sri knows this, as does his sister, it's very important to know that her husband runs the whole financial side of AOL and the family are now multi millionaires with expensive tastes and education for their children. ) Its a great business which uses Multi Level Marketing to expand. They need knew recruits to keep financing their organisation, paying the senior teachers and investing in property developments in india and the states.

So Guruji says with a smile, "Yes people see me as a God, and sometimes miracles happen."

New recruits believe they get to hang out with god, and begin to share stories of miracles or divine events around AOL.

Cut the guy some slack. He is a mystic - flights of fancy come with the vocation. Let him have some poetic license. If one is too judgemental then the good stuff won't come out - it comes with the bad.

The financial irregularities etc. are shameful - but this I can live with

Let us say the bloggers determine to basline GOD as the one or the process that created this universe and the great planetary systems discovered by science and not reached by science yet and believe this GOD responsible for creation of 84 million species and millions of samples of these species or a framework for multiplication these species also responsible for the entire maintenance and destruction process, then only an absolutely ignorant being though they may have university graduations, doctorates... consider and accept the so called spiritual teachers as GODs and some of these spiritually advanced being boasting themselves as well as GODs.

Guru will serve as someone who provides that Roadmap and help keeping the focus on the thought of GOD including SSRS, Jesus, Saibaba, you local pastor, priest, father mother.. and regarded by the people as GOD themselves just a small token of appreciation.

Unfortunately like in many organizations some AOLers has this state of mind. Hopefully this particular blog topic and associated comments help them have a sudarshan(Proper vision) and take the right decision instead of sitting in a state of denial;

Many will claim AOL is great value,and has helped them to live a more fulfilled life, others will feel it's a bit weird seeing the wealth of the family and the divine pedestal they are placed on.

Sri Sri as a young pundit, was exposed to the large cash that could be made in the spiritual business when he was with maharishi in Europe and India in the early 1970s

He then, with some fellow ex TM people, set up AOL, ( their US accounts are still audited in Fairfield, Iowa the same town as the Maharishi University. )

Now he can probably raise as much cash as he wants by asking wealthy devotees.

I am not judging him or saying there are any irregularities, I just feel this might help people understand why the divine tag, the god head, the reincarnations can be viewed through a wider context, in this case business.

There is something called regression threapy and it is practiced even by Christian Jew and Muslim doctors, the ones whose religious faith doesn't confirm rebirth! Ask some qualified psychiatrist what is regression therapy and they will tell you its revisiting your past life under hypnosis administered by a trained specialist doctor.It helps you to address some psychological problems that are not solved by common psychotherapies or medicines

Have you met Jesus Christ yourself to believe he existed and what you practrice is the true christianity he had in mind?

I have heard a Lady teacher in NJ says Sri Sri is avatar of shiva himself from a reliable information from an Asian country and someone was told not to touch him during certain period of time as there was supposed to be High voltage electricity passing out during a specific time...

I see this blog is being attended by current and former AOL members, so it would be appropriate to get a response from AOL organization itself or a blog negating this one.

First of all i applaud this blog and its creator for his bravery....he has expressed my anger too towards all this....secondly,I would like to disagree that such boasts are harmless, atleast not for those who have faith....people in this world seek solace through spirituality....but almost everywhere these pakhandis are springing up..a blog should be devoted to each....cheers to the creator of this blog....hope my country isn't reduced to a land of dhongi pakhandis and become a laughing stock in the future...

Heh. This post just reminded me. The Bay area teacher who came here to conduct my Part-1 course swore california was 'Kapil aranya' or the forest of Kapila Maharishi so all we who live here are 'ready' to be enlightened. She swore it so convincingly and when someone challenged she was talking about Gondwanaland and what not! LOL. Nice touch I thought. If you say it fast enuff it kinda sounds the same. Some women in my class completely bought this garbage too.

You have to be an idiot to make any serious decision of your life based on whether someone is krishna or not.

Knowledge is very powerful - it can easily be abused by the student too. Gita says self cannot be killed - that does not mean that human life has no value; but can easily be interpreted by someone as so. Will you blame the teacher for students being irresponsible. Come on...we are talking of mature adults here.

A lot of this stuff is like poetry - not to be taken literally, but metaphorically. It is not precise like science - but that does not mean it does not have value.

The sort of perfection you demand from a spiritual teacher does not exist in the real world...if it does - be very careful - it may be all an act of an imposter.

I do agree on one point though - a lot of depressed and mentally unstable people come to spiritual places for healing - and they are just not ready for some of this stuff. They are prone to being exploited, and there must be checks and balances against that.

Jnanis are not ‘incarnations’ at all; they are beings who know by direct experience that incarnations never really happened. Incarnations are a delusion that is sustained by the ‘I’-thought’s habit of associating and identifying with a form

I haven't heard any of these stories about reincarnations in my *ex*-AoL group. But "blablabla" pretty much sums it up for me. It's just flaky! I particularly think teachers/leaders have a huge responsibility not to perpetuate myths of their own God/Goddess reincarnations and to correct students who make such claims. Peaceful Warrior: I can't cut the guy some slack. These kinds of myths bestow too much authority on the teacher and create a sick power dynamic where the disciples are subservient to an unhealthy degree. Such a power dynamic is what keeps cults running and makes people afraid to speak out against the Guru.

I would rather have a teacher who lives in humility than one who claims to be or have been a God.

Problem is with people who see guru as a messiah and want to become his tool. It makes life very simple for them- you don't have to think or question - just leave that to him.

One just needs to take the concept of surrender to guru, with a pinch of salt.

While guru is a symbol - one needs to recognize that he is a real person. One has give him space to be himself - otherwise he will just put on an act (like we all do at work where we play a role). Flaws reveal that the person in human, not a demi-god. I'm much more comfortable with a guru who has flaws, than with someone who is perfect in every way. Then I might just become his tool!!!

to add...I see these as benign (the other stuff is indeed inexcusable in modern times)....Any person can see that these stories are too ridiculous to be true. They just show that their wisdom is not absolute and they are also prone to mistakes.

A guru (or any professional) is best judged by his peers. That's the best way to establish accountability.

Like a doctor patient relationship, guru-student relationship requires surrender on part of the student. It is up to the guru to conduct himself with integrity, and in a way that inspires trust. I agree we all are human, and so is the guru - but this kind of behavior is unprofessional...especially if such rumors are not only condoned, but encouraged as well.

I agree with Jivani and others that these claims are NOT harmless flights of fancy. They are either delusions of grandeur or deliberate deceptions on Ravi’s part. In either case truthfulness and humility have been flushed down the drain. How could such an ungrounded, grandiose and delusional person (whether or not he is a “mystic”) be of any help to anyone on the spiritual path? What kind of “spiritual” example is he setting?

A spiritual path is not just about the teachings, it is very much about following a practical example. Someone once asked Ravi how can one recognise a true Master among all the false ones? Ravi said that a Master doesn’t say one thing on stage and then does something else. In other words, there are consistency in teachings and actions. But there is no such consistency in Ravi, nonetheless he pretends to be some great Master and people go on believing it. The fact that he can get away with such flagrant contradictions between his statements and acts indicates the power of charisma over reason, also the amount of subtle brainwashing one becomes subject to in AoL – and all kinds of people are falling for it, including well-educated ones and people who generally have well-developed critical faculties.

Ravi deserves no poetic license. If one desires poetic mysticism, read Rabindranath Tagore or Rumi or someone. At least humility speaks from their pages.

I am confused. Avadut Baba Shivanand claims that he was Krishna in one of his births. One of his disciples whose name is incidentally Arjun claims that he was Arjuna in his past life and he received the Gita from his Guru in the battlefield. There is also a lady disciple of the avadut who claims that she was Draupadi the wife of pandavas in her past life. Looks like there are too many versions of hindu mythological figures under reincarnation.

Ravi Ravi's next life in Mongolia is a typical advertisement to tap the reincarnation market of the west and sell the eternity process. Most people in the west associate reincarnation with Dalai lama and tibetian buddhism followed by hinduism and other eastern traditions. The very word Dalai is a mongolian word meaning ocean. The title of Dalai Lama was bestowed to the first DL by he mongol ruler Altan Khan. Most people who know the Dalai lama lore is familiar with the Mongolian influence on DL. Ravi Ravi with this cooked up story of his next reincarnation wants to steal some reincarnation market pie.

It is NOT true that “any person can see that these stories are too ridiculous to be true”. Instead of people seeing these stories as “flaws” that show up the humanness of the Guru (as Peaceful Warrior suggested), the stories cause them to idolise and mystify Ravi even more, believing him to be MORE flawless, powerful and special than they would have believed without the stories. The majority of devoted AoL people will swallow these claims as the solid truth, including many well-educated people.

Of course, Ravi is clever and doesn’t usually come out with these claims upfront when addressing large audiences, especially not in foreign countries, but he has indirect ways of getting the message across, e.g. speaking as if he knew Jesus’s mind and intentions intimately, switching over to the first person when uttering some of Jesus’ words, e.g. “I have come to make you whole”, or mimicking some of Jesus’ actions or his appearance. Devotees with a Christian background will naturally respond to that. It’s the kind of thing one’s heart would want to believe. They will think of his present incarnation as some kind of second coming of Christ.

In the Silver Jubilee publication brought out in South Africa, there was a full page photo of Ravi posing as a pretty convincing Christ look-alike. Turn a page or two, and there the exact same photo was again. The hint wasn’t lost on me – I instantly thought it might allude to the fact that he is Jesus come again, second time round. And I was hardly in AoL for a couple of days then.

It is very reassuring to think that one’s Master has been around before and that you have been his follower in previous lives, him having led and guided you across the ages, taking responsibility for your spiritual destiny from the very beginning until the very end. People crave that sense of security and historical continuity. And they’re not idiots, as Peaceful Warrior suggests. They are just being human and have unfortunately crossed the path of someone who is either a delusional narcissist or a ruthless impostor and manipulator.

In the Bangalore ashram, one of the boys working in Publications told me that when Guruji looks into one’s eyes He sees your karma seven lakh births into the past and the future. I assume the boy said “lakh” – at the time I was still unfamiliar with Indian numerical terms, but it sounded something like that. Anyway, whether it was 7 or 700 000 births, the implication was that Ravi knew one’s destiny (past and future) intimately.

I was a little disappointed because I had hoped that he knew absolutely everything without any sort of limitation in terms of lakhs or whatever. And I certainly didn’t expect he first needed to look physically into one’s eyes before knowing stuff. I thought he knew everything about everybody anyway. But luckily he had looked into my eyes many times by then, so I was at least reassured to the point of him knowing 7 lakh (whatever the word meant!) of my past and future births. I was just concerned that it seemed to imply there are more births to come, and that this might not be the final one for me. I really thought he’d liberate me this life, and now here seemed to be the possibility of yet more lives...

The way you put it...given the nature of the teacher student relationship, it is not benign. It is manipulative and dastardly on his part to let these stupid spread. He indeed does not deserve the poetic license.

Long time back, when people were being asked to come for silver jubilee - a story of a minnesota couple who visited him in December, and expressed their inability to come to SJ due to lack of finances.RS spun a tale of how SJ was going to change the world forever, and how thousands of gods and goddesses would be there to bestow blessings.

In AOL such miracle mongering is used to manipulate devotees. This is one instance, of something that is very routine. As you can see RS's expression of his divinity and esoteric knowledge is not benign - it is manipulative. I would go as far as to say that RS's reason for doing what he does are rooted in this delusion. Vasudheva Kutumbakam and all the other nice things he says are just sales gimmicks to fool unsuspecting people.

Forget Silver Jubiliee and 2.5 million peoples attendance.They are planning for a bigger event within few years. The teachers have started advertising this in basic courses and with volunteers. The next event target is 10 million peoples. On what occassion? who cares?One world family......is it mean-One family wants to rule the world?

Nithyananda scandal video is in youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/gauthamcool#p/u/1/UIqOLIxCBPY Very explicit between after 6.30OMG

Life bliss foundation seems to have more realestate than AOL loking at their Indian and USA properties in their website;

Considering is nithy is only 32 imagine what has been built and may be risky to maintain this following this breakout.

My sincere request to AOL teachers and Ashram/Center staff - Please get out of your positions if you can not maintain moral/ethical standards,as lot of people trust in you as equally as in guruji himself.

Lot of blogs and comments already quoting examples as to which org could be next and with no surprise unfortunately AOLs name comes up among others, so it is as serious as it can get right now.

@Dude:As you can see RS's expression of his divinity and esoteric knowledge is not benign - it is manipulative.

Yes! I think if I had to pick one characteristic to describe RS and cult leaders, it would be "manipulative". I heard a woman telling RS that she was upset about the fanaticism around him regarding his guru status and he told her she was living in fear. What? So, it's her problem? I hope she realized that he was manipulating her and that fear can be healthy. I say, go ahead and be afraid of RS and any manipulative person.

Manipulation is one of the ugliest characteristics because it sneaks up silently from behind. At least if someone yells at me or punches me, I can see it coming. (not that I think that is a good thing to do either). Manipulation is extremely violent in a silent, dark, and confusing way. Like, huh, what just happened?

@Art of Leaving:"It is very reassuring to think that one’s Master has been around before and that you have been his follower in previous lives"

Oh yes. People just want to feel good in life. There's the idea in yoga of being at ease with both things we love and things we resist/dislike. Much of the time, I think humans just want the things that feel good. That's why some of us make up stories that help us feel good. But, it's delusional because as Klim writes "so much for living in the present moment" which would seem to take one further away from Truth and Yoga.

BuzziI have attended many of Babajis Shivirs, never once has he claimed to be reincarnation of any God.When people praise him, he attributes it to Shiva. He has only mentioned Krishna once in the context of Bhagavadgita. How can he claim to be an avatar of Krishna when he is a true and true Shiva bhakta.

Unlike our showy Sri Sri, there are no crowds around him, no clamouring for photographs, no garlanding etc. I am not defending any swamijis, but from what I have observed Babaji is so humble and very knowledgable - he gives crisp and clear answers unlike our Sri Sri who either evades the questions or giggles them away - looking coy and cute and his dumb devotees swooning over his stupidity.

And so the heroes fall one after another... Well, I’m glad Nithyananda is now thoroughly exposed. There was a time when I watched lots of his talks and actually took a lot of the stuff he said seriously, though I could see he was obviously running high on his own narcissism & chasing after money & property even worse than Ravi. Thing is one tends to give these guys the benefit of doubt because they speak with such self-assurance and eloquence. You want to believe the words even though you see right before your eyes the contradiction of this guy talking renunication & spiritual practice, all the while having conceitedly seated himself on some golden throne. When the Nithya guys started exposing all the lies in his whole sannyasin life story, I realised I’ve been fooled yet again - having believed his Himalayan tales, etc. blah blah blah... I guess after about ten times of being fooled, one starts catching the drift and learn to see the telltale signs instantly.

Read this blog yesterday in Bangalore Press Club along with other fellow journalist friends. Great Job. I know some journos in Bangalore who have a huge list of material against the fraudulent activities of Ravishankar. Land grabbing and money laundering tops the list. Ravi used high influence to settle a case in court against a serious case of land encroachment where he had almost gobbled up a whole village. Journos are waiting for the right and opportune moment to strike. The top bosses in some media houses are protecting Ravishankar and some have fianancial intrests. But you never know when the power structure tilts. Opinions and PR can change overnight. Nithyananda was caught in the sex tape and the same people who used to lick his feet a day before are now burning the Ashram.. Land grabbing and money laundering are far more serious than the sexploits of a Guru. After all it is sex between consenting adults. No crime under law. But Indian crowds are unthinking and emotional and there is no way for Nithya or his PR to stop the tide now. He and his followers are doomed. But what is distressing is that nobody in the mainstream media gave second thoughts about Nithya's fraud till he was caught fucking on screen. Now they are trying to dig into his land scams and other financial irregularities. It was only intenet blogs like these which highlighted it before. Same with Ravishankar. Except for some media houses not many have probed the fraud. They haven't questioned where the money comes and escapes. How Ravi has hedged his funds and how the corrupt instituions he has created operate. With Nithya's fall Ravi will cover up his romping with the boys and he would be extra careful with high security surveillance in the ashram and around. The queen bee should be protected for this fraud organization to thrive and there are many lives and careers at stake if it falls. It is the duty of right thinking people to bring any thing they have against these criminals to light. I hope more people like you come out and bring awareness on the mechanism of how these groups operate. This awareness building would not go waste. I think it is already working. The gurus and their loudmouthed fanatic disciples have gone into their shell and open it only to mouth some plagiarized spiritual platititudes. I am cocksure sure none of these scoundrels will dare file any defamation case agianst a blog like this which hits at their very foundation. They would love to, but cannot. If they do they are doomed. Their approach now is to feign gnorance and indifference to all contra views. But there is a tipping point after which the scales will tilt. It was the sex tape of Nithya. What would it be in case of Ravishankar is what we need to wait and see.

There is so much suffering in the world - spirituality can be such a force for good. This spiritual knowledge can be such a force for good...Good people donate money, time and effort to these organizations, because they realize that spirituality had the power to uplift the downtrodden and the suffering.

But these bastards, use public goodwill to amass personal fortune. If they really care about people, Art of Living foundation should become truly non-profit and start conducting these camps for less than $50. Knowledge is public wealth - it is given to them to help uplift people - not for them to preach how awesome they are, or to amass wealth.

Though Ramdev is an ass, I have much more respect for him than Sri Sri. He really has brought yoga to the masses.

I realize this blog is about AOL. But something doesnt ring true about Nithyananda's wandering all over India during ages 17-24. It seems very deliberately constructed. Anyone know if it is made up? Same question could be asked of Ravi's bio. But this is more public, for the most part.

we are slaves of the west....only because the west is superior...ravishankar is just exploiting the ignorant...sudarshana kriya is good just like any other yoga technique...for the lazy it is the best...for the greedy ravishankar is god...for the gullible too he is god...but nobody realises that you dont need a god especially a human god...congrats to the blogger

Most AOL-ers think that the Cosmos revolves around AOL. Do SK, it fixes everything. Lets look at Enlightenment. I know that I was a willing participant and propogator to the popularly circulating Enlightenment stories….HAND ME DOWNs that happen in all of the AOL courses….guised as Guru Stories. I too interpreted many life events to become new add ons to the hand me downs.The following AOL definition is pretty convenient tool to support a popular belief that SSRS is enlightened.….“Those who are enlightened will not talk about it (Well, the behind the scene meaning is that some of the AOL followers will talk about though….and I wonder…..how did they figure it out ???…..how did the un-enlightened follower figure out his/her Master is enlightened ?.....is this not like every child who thinks of its parent as it’s God….until they grow up and realise otherwise…and that parents are also regular people …they have flaws and constraints………hmmmmm….ANDBut then, those who talk about it are not “Enlightened”, don't trust them…………(….hmmmmmm…….!!!). Judgement was just passed. Did the Buddha, Mahaveera, Osho….and the many others like them not talk on the subject ? How can anyone of us reading this BLOG know for sure that there is even something called enlightenment ?. Its pure conjecture. If we ask each one to define it.....we will have as many definitions as there are people. I am a little amazed at how dumb I have been and for so long.The larger questions still linger and it swings strongly both ways. While there is much BS and absurdity floating around, equally, some some amazing synchronicity (Grace ?) as well. I have lived it in action......both in the physical presence and away from the physical presence of SSRS….many many times.That’s why to me it really does not matter if SSRS is enlightened or not. How much of good work and seva is happening because of AOL is the question. Why cant I just focus on the goodness ? Is improvement possible ? Yes definitely….. so lets just keep on improving ourselves, individually and collectively. If the environment does not allow us, change the environment. Move on....No ? It is easier to say this when one not hurt as badly as you say you have. With AOL…..in many parts the amount of devotion and seva that I have seen generated, done and delivered is not funny. That energy needs to be protected. That is all of our responsibility. Now comes my million dollar question to you KLIM (in fact to all of us reading this posting)....I am seeking resonance and a belief system that I can subscribe to here…so I can save my mind (Pure AOL terminology this) and something that will keep me more peaceful.What if all of it is true.......? The good, the miracles, the bad, the crazy, the sleazy, the ugly, the love, ......all of it. The point is that everything is present in consciousness right this very moment. AND as they say in Advaita, if there is no two....then SSRS is also my manifestation and a symbol for me….....from which I am expected to learn and evolve. The AOL classes are the vanilla ice cream....its meant for the masses…..a wake up shake up exercise. However, its only up to a point thingie for a true seeker. Its not the end all and a ONE point solution for everything (as is the popular belief). Further to this, you need to be serious about your own truth to continue to evolve and grow ON YOUR OWN. Otherwise we have just moved from one bunch of lies to another.Religion bought a priest between the regular man and God. In spiritual movements we have a Guru who is a go between our regular selves and our enlightened self…..if at all it exists.

Brass Tacks - The AOL AdministrationI have been an AOL-er for quite sometime now and have noticed much of what you mention. The SSRS biological family control, the large sheeple following, often the usage of inaccurate and misleading data to propagate AOL (30,000 villages,300 Million lives touched, fastest growing NGO, IAHV Cofounded with the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela…).I too have observed the lack of transparency on the $ side. That is disconcerting. It only takes WILL (a simple directive) for us to maintain a clean set of books. I am sure manpower and skill availability is not an issue. After all, most of us who come to the AOL class, come because they are fed up with all the BS and lies we face on a daily basis and we want some peace and a place that is authentic. Hence an initiative such as “lets clean ourselves up” will generate a lot of support and energy from the AOL volunteer base.I notice we have poorly lead and governed regions….this is almost a norm. So, with poor quality of systems and values whats gets hit is sustainability. The Self destruct button has just about been pushed. There has really been no visible change in fiscal policies / practices in last so many years. So what should we do now ? Here is what I see 1. All the prime players in AOL game (this includes people such as you KLIM, as AOL is still strongly in your awareness) are all essentially in different stages of learning, evolution and state of being. A typical "Work In progress" entity (WIP).2. It is our past and current WIP understanding of GOD and Enlightenment that is causing all discord...for whose resolution we felt we needed a Guru.3. But, all we are doing at this time is battling between ourselves on our definitions of the ultimate and permissible moral / ethical / fiscal / spiritual / sexual preferences and all our ideas regarding perfection.4. George Bush's war against terror only increased the terror spending and effort. Similarly, as far as your BLOG is concerned here are some of my observations….a. It seems to me that fighting against the certain wrong things is what you are currently propagating. And so, It comes off as an anti AOL blog. While I respect the healing you/we all need, this BLOG now belongs to everyone in whose awareness it comes to. Hence there is healing needed for all of them too…. No ?b. Did you not find anything good about AOL ? Please, would you write a little about that ? I see so many unconditional seva warriors at AOL and in their own little ways they are changing the world in small ways. Their belief system serves them at this time. Now, do we/I have a moral/dharmic right to shake that tree ? If so based on what premise? They belong to me ? I belong to them ? Are we truly living those values ? c. Can we not use all this very medium you have (ie The BLOG)...and re-orient it to passionately and strongly STAND "for something"....ie positive advocacy. i. Clear accountability in AOL policies and fairness in their adoption and deployment ii. Total fiscal and operational transparency iii. Completeness in the representation of events and facts (places, names, numbers, dates) iv. Integrity and Integration v. All of the above applies to everything (finances, teachings, life style, communications…everything) As an insider, how Should One respond now ? How may we be guided again ? Which shade of grey is better ?

I've done the basic course, and is working with an MNC. I visited their ashrams a couple of times. During a satsang, some one asked SSRS "Are you Krishna or Siva?" and he answered, "All such interpretations are just from your mind. There is no difference between you and me, both of us are true love with in". From my limited involvement - I don't think what you stated is totally correct.

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This blog was created with the sole purpose of providing former Art of Living members and currently doubting ones a space for healing, finding answers, understanding processes that we went through as active members and as "drop-outs", sharing, supporting each other, with understanding, compassion, and above all, freedom and forgiveness. We welcome you to share your stories. Authors will be kept confidential unless you request your name be published.

Helpful Books

"Take Back your Life: Recovering from Cult and Abusive Relationships" by Janja Lalich

"The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power" by Joel Kramer

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